A Matter of Trust
by stephmcx
Summary: He knows Steve's got this. He knows Steve and he trusts Steve and this is neither their first bomb, nor the scariest.


Carefully, so very carefully, Steve entangles the mess of wires that connect the detonator with several bars of C4. Danny's eyes flick back and forth between Steve's hands and the red digits of the timer, which is steadily ticking down second by second.

Unlike Danny, Steve is the epitome of calmness, focussed on his work, his face showing nothing but concentration, right now it's void of any emotion. Danny still hates this side of Steve, that he is able to shut himself off like this. After all the years they've known each other, Danny knows that Steve is far from unaffected by these kinds of situations. He might shut down his emotions now, but he will have to deal with the fallout later. It's never easy.

Danny has to bite his tongue to keep from commenting. He also has to quench the urge to tell Steve to work faster, to hurry the fuck up, he can barely keep himself from pacing the small room—but he knows better than to distract Steve, not when there are only 1 minute and 33 seconds left.

He knows Steve's got this. He knows Steve and he trusts Steve and this is neither their first bomb, nor the scariest. Nothing will ever be worse than the dirty bomb on that ancient red truck with its container full of uranium. Danny still has nightmares about that day for more reasons than one.

But a bomb is still a bomb and if this one goes off, they will all still die.

"As far as bombs go, it's built relatively simple," Steve had summarized his assessment and Junior had nodded in agreement—that was when the timer had shown 12 minutes and right before all hell had broken loose.

Because they had walked right into a trap. They would have been outsmarted by the gun runners they had been after for the last three weeks; they would have been locked inside this bunker with the bomb if Junior hadn't noticed at the last minute and opened fire before the thick metal door could be shoved shut. And Junes had paid for it by taking a ricochet to the thigh.

Fighting back, taking down the gun runners, tending to Juniors wound and sending him and Tani on their way out of these catacombs, it had all happened in a blur but it had cost them valuable time.

Junior is barely able to walk, and Tani is barely able to support his weight. If this goes south the kids won't make it out in time, which, no—

He knows Steve's got this.

He knows Steve.

He trusts Steve.

The timer is down to 56 seconds when Steve shifts his position and inhales audibly. Danny looks at him and sees that he has singled out a blue wire, holding it in his left hand and his knife ready in his right hand. Their eyes meet for a moment, saying everything that needs to be said without words, a silent conversation of _I love you_ and _I trust you_ and _Ready?_ and _Go on, get this over with!_

They've been here before, so many times.

Too many times.

Too many moments where one move, one decision, one mistake can make all the difference between life and death. He can see it in Steve's eyes now, he can see how acutely aware Steve is of this responsibility, of the trust Danny and the team have in him to make the right call. Given how fiercely protective Steve is of each and everyone of their ohana on a regular day, Danny can't begin to imagine the weight Steve must be feeling on his shoulders right now and it tears at his heart painfully.

There's so much he wants to say right now, he wants to tell Steve that he doesn't have to carry that weight on his own, but there is no time—

"Do it," is all he says instead, underlined with a small wave of his hand.

Steve gives him a quick nod, barely visible, and looks down again, once more checking that he's got this right before he cuts the wire.

A quick tug with the knife, the bomb beeps once, the red digits disappear—and then it's over.

It takes a long couple of seconds before Danny dares to let out the breath he'd been holding. Steve literally sags with relief, letting himself fall backwards onto his ass from where he'd been crouching in front of the bomb. He rubs his hands over his face in a jittery gesture and doesn't look up.

It takes another long couple of seconds before Danny can move, but then he is at Steve's side in two steps, kneeling down and pulling Steve into his arms. Steve moves willingly, slinging his arms around Danny, pressing his face into Danny's chest, holding on tight.

"I've got you," Danny tells him, squeezing back, nuzzling his hair and pressing soft kisses to Steve's temple. "I've got you!"

It's completely silent except for their harsh breathing and Danny is grateful that they have this moment to themselves. It won't be long until the place is swarming with HPD and the bomb squad and EMTs and whoever else. But right now, it's just Steve and him. Safe.


End file.
